When Chef Tee Cozy traces up for the Chicago Marathon on Sunday, October 12, 2025, it’ll be the eleventh time the top chef from Cozy Noodles n’ Rice, a Thai restaurant in Wrigleyville, Illinois, has run the race. If there’s one factor obvious within the opening scenes of this new brief movie — the debut within the new PACE SETTERS sequence by iRunFar in partnership with HOKA — it’s that Chef Tee, who moved to Chicago from Thailand in 1996, loves his metropolis. He additionally loves operating. And he brings that very same sense of affection to all he does.
[Editor’s Note: Click here to watch the full film on YouTube.]
With the looming Chicago Marathon, we be taught what the occasion means to Chef Tee, who got here to the U.S. in the hunt for alternative, and within the meantime, discovered group and that means in operating. What began as one thing accomplished for train and enjoyable, operating grew to become a central tenet in Tee’s life after a good friend inspired him to use for the 2014 Chicago Marathon. He nonetheless appears stunned when describing the expertise of getting accepted all these years later. After taking practically eight hours to finish that first marathon, he by no means seemed again. “I’ve to say operating modified my life. It undoubtedly modified my life in the easiest way.”
Chef Tee in his restaurant, Cozy Noodles ‘n Rice. All images are screenshots from the movie “Chicago, Meet the Chef Who Loves You.”
However there’s extra to operating for Tee than the straightforward act of placing one foot in entrance of the subsequent. It’s about group, friendship, setting targets, and bringing love into every little thing he does. The truth that operating typically mirrors life, or life mirrors operating, just isn’t misplaced on Tee when he says, “Operating can assist me create one thing good in my life, too.”
Having raced the Chicago Marathon 10 instances now, Tee shares tales of the group that has gathered round him through the years. His household waits for him on the identical spot annually, his prospects collect between miles seven and 9 to cheer him on, and he hosts a free carb-loading meal for any Chicago Marathon runner.
Chef Tee heads into his restaurant, Cozy Noodles n’ Rice.
Tee clearly goals to imbue every little thing he does with love. In his restaurant, he says, “Everyone had meals, however in the event you can add up some love and happiness and fervour into your meals and serve it, and within the place you’ve gotten, I ought to have extra success too.” He explains, “In my tradition, we all know one another, we discuss, we’re very honest. Right here, typically, if we don’t know one another effectively, we don’t present what’s in our coronary heart.” Tee reveals what’s in his coronary heart. In his operating, he’s fast to specific his gratitude for his operating group, for the streets of Chicago, and for the individuals within the metropolis.
Chef Tee and his operating group.
This movie is a reminder that there’s a lot extra to operating than meets the attention, and everybody who laces up a pair of footwear has their very own causes for displaying up. With earnestness, Tee reminds us of the significance of targets, of displaying up for ourselves and our communities, and of current in an area of gratitude and appreciation.
Chef Tee operating on the streets of Chicago.
[Editor’s Note: This article is sponsored by HOKA. Thank you to HOKA for its sponsorship of iRunFar, which helps to make iRunFar happen and free for all to enjoy. Learn more about our sponsored articles.]
